A very common fan theory for the future of the MCU is that Chris Evans is soon to hang up his shield and leave the franchise, with Bucky Barnes officially taking up the mantle of Captain America. So, it defied expectations when, in the finale of Avengers: Infinity War, Buck was one of many prominent heroes to collapse into a pile of dust. The ending was so surprising, in fact, that I couldn’t help but wonder what the actors made of it. I mean, presumably they assumed their characters had more stories to tell, right?
Well, now Sebastian Stan has chipped in to explain during a panel at Wizard World Philadelphia, telling those in attendance how how he found out about his character’s fate. “I remember the day on set and James Young, who is one of my talented, glorious stuntmen … on this film, came up to me and told me what was happening,” the actor said, before going to reveal how he was nonchalantly told Bucky was to fall onto a mat and then he’d fade out of existence. To which he understandably reacted, “Oh. OK.”
He then went on to ask Anthony Mackie if he knew about this development, with Stan explaining the following to the audience at Wizard World:
“I was like, ‘maybe this is it.’ And I remember Anthony was talking to everybody, and I was like, ‘Anthony, do- OK, I’ll wait. Uh, do- am I- uh, is this it? And he was like “No, well, you know, maybe. But not really. Well, I don’t know.” So, that’s the way that day went.”
“No, well, you know, maybe. But not really. Well, I don’t know,” is pretty hilarious and must sum up the reaction of most of these actors being told that their fresh-faced characters are making a swift and dusty exit from the MCU. Let’s face it, though, some kind of Infinity Stone trickery is probably going to ensure they’ll all be back for Avengers 4, so Stan and the others really have nothing to worry about.
